News in Financial Education

It is the height of financial-aid season, that time of year when families scramble to grab grants, scholarships and loans to offset the rising cost of a college education. Many will find themselves in a classic quagmire: They are considered too wealthy to qualify for help, but not wealthy enough to pay full freight.

The National Financial Educators Council launches the 2012 version of the Core 80 Financial Literacy Curriculum. This personal financial curriculum includes the Real Money Experience Student Guides, the Money XLive Multimedia learning center, PowerPoint presentation and other tools designed to improve the financial capability of high school and college-age participants.

Practical Money Skills -- By many measures, women's lives have changed substantially in recent decades. According to a comprehensive government report called "Women in America" (www.whitehouse.gov/data-on-women), although certain social and economic situations for women have improved, when it comes to personal finances, many women still face challenging hurdles.

Huffington Post -- 2011 is behind us and we are entering 2012 with certainty and optimism. Yet, with bills to pay from a happy holiday, compounded with financial markets fluctuating daily, today's only certainty is that our financial future remains uncertain. That's why financial literacy is more important than ever.

Jacksonville.com —Vice President Joe Biden struck a responsive chord among many Fletcher High School students, their parents, teachers and Duval County school system leaders Thursday morning as he emphasized that a college degree is priceless and shouldn’t be a luxury only a few can afford.

The New York Times — Anyone who has recently applied for a mortgage knows that lenders are already looking much more closely at your financial affairs. But soon, they’ll be able to easily delve into the deepest recesses of your financial life, accessing information that never before appeared on your credit report.

The Washington Post — If you have a private student loan - and you are upset about what you’ve gotten yourself into - there’s a government agency that wants to hear your story. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created specifically to look out for the interests of consumers, has undertaken several initiatives to simplify loan products that have tripped up consumers.

The New York Daily News— You’re probably not surprised to hear you have a big influence over your children - though they probably won’t admit it. A recent study from the University of Arizona and the National Endowment for Financial Education found that parents are the most important factor in building financial capability for their children.

If your child's lemonade stand goes bankrupt, that doesn't mean you've failed to raise an entrepreneur, according to financial expert Rachel Ramsey Cruze. She's the daughter of best-selling author and radio talk show host Dave Ramsey, so you can bet her financial education started at a very young age. Dave and Sharon Ramsey taught Rachel how to save, spend and give: three lessons she took to heart. GoErie.com

Most parents expect their child's college education to be full of major expenses. However, senior year of high school can also run up quite a tab for families. From prom to SAT tests to graduation, parents can budget to help make sure their child has a reasonable, but memorable final year in high school.

American Express, along with personal finance expert Jean Chatzky and parenting expert Stacy DeBroff, announced the launch of a new initiative designed to help parents teach their college-bound kids how to 'Practice Safe Spend' before they head back to school and beyond.

If you – or one of your kids – are about to graduate from college or high school, congratulations on successfully navigating the twists and turns of the education system. You don't need me to tell you what a challenging, rewarding and expensive road it has been. Visa's Practical Money Skills

June means wedding season for many young couples. Despite their best intentions, some newlyweds are making financial mistakes right out of the gate that can lead to marital discord. Not talking about money, mishandling debt and not keeping both partners in the financial loop are just a few of the mistakes couples make, say financial advisers. But a little preparation and some education can help couples avoid these pitfalls -- and make for a happier marriage. Wall Street Journal

BRANDON -- A question for parents of adult children: How many of you are providing — or have provided — them with some sort of financial support? Maybe they live at home or you subsidize their rent or you help them out in an emergency. Tampa Bay Online

A weak job market for college and high-school graduates is continuing to drive young adults back into the households onto the payrolls of their parents, a variety of surveys have confirmed. Almost 60% of parents with non-student children between the ages of 18 and 39 have been helping their kids, according to a survey released by the National Endowment of Financial Education. Fox Business

WASHINGTON — Moving to address one of the principal factors that led to the nation's deep financial crisis, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday unveiled the first prototypes of what could become plain English mortgage-disclosure documents for consumers.

America's credit card companies have a new target in mind as they pitch the advertising of new credit cards to the younger generation. Morgan Drexen says financial literacy is the key to preventing high levels of student debt.

$22,900 is the average student debt of newly minted college graduates. The Class of 2011 will graduate this spring from America's colleges and universities with a dubious distinction: the most indebted ever. Wall Street Journal

Imagine how different the economic meltdown might have been if every school-aged child were taught some basic economic skills, from learning how to earn, save and budget to investing and donating money. Financial literacy is the intellectual raw material for crafting goals and shaping strategies in the new global economy. It's like learning another language, putting a "D" for "dollars" into the ABCs of education.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public feedback on whether its efforts to educate investors about the risks they face have been adequate. Dodd-Frank mandated a review of today published on retail investors’ financial literacy. The SEC must report its finds to Congress by July 2012. The public have 60 days to respond to the SEC’s request for comments and criticisms.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — E.T. York of Gainesville passed away on Friday, April 15, 2011. He was chancellor emeritus of the State University System and former University of Florida vice president for agriculture and natural resources, executive vice president, and interim president. A native of Mentone, Ala., he was 88.

Jordan Lane-Palmer, a 9th grader at the A.W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the national winner of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) annual "Be Money Wi$e" poster contest. Jordan's poster, which was among 1,800 entries from across the country, wholeheartedly captured the essence of the theme, "Be A $uperhero! $ave Money!" His artwork was selected as the regional winner by the Palm BeachCounty and Treasure Coast offices of CredAbility and was submitted to compete in the national competition in February.

One of the most valuable financial lessons you can share with your kids before they leave the nest is to explain what interest rates are and how they work. The important financial transactions they'll conduct as adults will likely be affected in some way by interest rates, whether as a lender or a borrower. Here's some background information to help guide those conversations.

Almost 40 percent of working Americans say they will never afford retirement, which, for the second year in a row, ranks as the nation's most important financial concern, according to a telephone survey conducted for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants by Harris Interactive.

As April is Financial Literacy Month, I am pleased to highlight the importance of financial literacy to a stable and healthy economy and to describe some of the Federal Reserve System's efforts to help Americans make informed financial decisions.

Financial literacy plays an important role in helping ensure the financial health and stability of individuals, families, and our broader national economy. Economic changes in recent years have highlighted the need to empower Americans to make informed financial decisions, yet evidence indicates that many U.S. consumers could benefit from a better understanding of financial matters.

The Christian Science Monitor, Guest blogger--When I was in high school, I took a consumer education proficiency test and passed it with flying colors, demonstrating that I had the knowledge needed to manage my own money and be a savvy shopper. Within ten years, I was buried in debt.

According to the TD Bank Financial Literacy Poll, 62 percent of all parents agree they should start teaching their children about money by 12 years of age. While mothers and fathers generally agree on when to start money-related conversations, the survey reveals they differ on how they teach their children financial literacy. The results also show there is a confidence gap between the two genders in how confident they feel about making sound financial decisions.

For the second year in a row, PwC US is supporting Operation HOPE’s Five Million Kids initiative, a five-year campaign designed to break the rate of the high school dropout epidemic by showing youth how to financially prosper in life. 850 PwC college interns will teach HOPE's award-winning curriculum, Banking on Our Future, to more than 4,000 students in 15 major cities across the country. The curriculum includes: A Course in Dignity, The Basics of Banking, Checking & Savings Accounts, Credit and Investing.